Dow Jones Industrial Average Fluctuates Ahead of Fed Meeting

By Mourad Haroutunian, BA, MA Published : March 14, 2016

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, together with S&P 500 and NASDAQ, fluctuated today as investors took a temporary stop in action ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting on monetary policy this week.

As of 2:32 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% at 17,248.38. The 30-member gauge fell as much as 0.3% to 17,161.16 earlier in the session.

The S&P 500 was down 0.1% at 2,020.95, while the tech heavy NASDAQ Composite was up 0.1% at 4,753.69.

Energy shares in the S&P 500 dropped as U.S. crude oil decreased more than 4%. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery fell 3.4% to settle at $37.18 a barrel.

The Fed is not forecast to hike interest rates at the two-day meeting, which begins tomorrow, but traders will be looking for its view on the economy and clues on the path of future increases.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT) gained 8.6% to $76.44 after the U.S. hotel operator received a rival takeover bid from an investor group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, potentially derailing a deal with Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR).

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE:CMG) were up 2% after a securities filing late Friday showed the company’s bosses now will see their pay linked to share-price performance.

The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ:TFM) surged 24% to $28.43 after the U.S. specialty grocery retailer agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management for $1.36 billion, completing the specialty grocer’s review of strategic alternatives.

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 4% to $216.10 after the electric car maker received an upgrade from Baird analyst Ben Kallo, who upped his rating to “outperform” from “neutral” and hiked his price target to $300 from $230.

Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) fell 4% to $21.54 after the generic drug maker said it would review its sales forecast for the year after experiencing “unanticipated market softness.”

In commodities, gold futures fell 1.1% to finish at $1,245.10 a troy ounce. May silver surrendered 0.5% to end at $15.521 a troy ounce.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 18 to 12.

The Dow Jones index showed 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is nearly 10% higher than its February 11 low and 12% higher than its 52-week low of 15,370.33, recorded on August 24.